One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when it's a good idea to plant bee balm is to check out the USDA zone info for Lodi.

Planting Calendar for Bee Balm

Frost tolerance for bee balm:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Bee Balm are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bee balm in Lodi is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bee balm and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bee balm may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your bee balm indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Lodi. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Lodi is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Lodi you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bee balm if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lodi

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Lodi

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lodi.